Chemical Engineering June 2022 - 25

But all this makes no sense. Last
week you would not pay a penny.
What the [heck] is going on? "
" Do you really want to know? "
" Sure. "
" Our president walked through the
plant this morning. He was so impressed
with how tidy and clean the
site looked, and said he never saw
such a clean new plant in his life. He
congratulated all of us for making it
happen. We did not have the heart
to tell him the real story. But we sure
owe Terry one "
Terry grinned one more time " Don't
worry about it. Glad it is all settled.
You can buy me a steak and a drink
for lunch next Friday. "
The takeaway: A doctor's work is
supported by staff. Always appreciate
their effort, especially during
stressful times.
■
Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
About the Tower Doctor
" The Tower Doctor " is the honorary title bestowed upon
the author of this article in 2002 by Richard Darton, professor
of Engineering in Oxford University and chair of
the European Distillation Network. " When a tower is not
well, " says Darton, " people call Henry to diagnose the
illness and find a remedy. He arrives with his doctor's
bag, examines the patient-tower, measures its temperature
and pulse, gets radiography to get an inside look.
Then comes his diagnosis and cure. Towers treated by
Henry mostly get better very quickly. "
Being son to two medical doctors who were blessed with
phenomenal diagnosis ability, the author aspired to live
up to this special honorary title. Like with medical doctors,
some illnesses were a struggle to diagnose, others
were easier. All were exciting. This column will reminisce
through some of the more entertaining cases. They may
not have seemed entertaining at the time, but looking
back at them, they leave unforgettable memories and
raise a smile or two. One great aspect of being a tower
doctor, one gets to work with and learn from some of
the greatest engineers and operators that contributed so
much to the chemical industry. We hope that this column
can pass some of the fun, excitement and lessons
learned to future troubleshooters and tower doctors.
Author
Henry Z. Kister is a senior fellow
and the director of fractionation
technology at Fluor Corp. (3 Polaris
Way, Aliso Viejo, CA; Phone: 949349-4679;
Email: henrykister@
fluor.com). He has over 35 years of
experience in design,
troubleshooting,
revamping, field consulting,
control and startup of fractionation
processes and equipment.
Kister is the author of three books, the distillation equipment
chapter in Perry's Handbook, and over 130 articles,
and has taught the IChemE-sponsored " Practical Distillation
Technology " course more than 530 times in 26
countries. A recipient of several awards, Kister obtained
his B.E. and M.E. degrees from the University of New
South Wales in Australia. He is a member of the NAE, a
Fellow of IChemE and AIChE, and serves on the FRI Technical
Advisory and Design Practices Committees.
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Chemical Engineering June 2022

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